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"Bang bang bang!"

There was loud gunfire at the foot of the mountain. The Eight Banners soldiers who were retreating into the city were knocked down by three more people who were running behind.

This was really a blunt knife cutting flesh. They fought in the mountains for more than three hours, and the Qing army's casualties were barely 200. On average, a Datong soldier needs more than forty rounds of bullets to hit an enemy.

However, a small amount adds up to a large amount, and coupled with the cavalry eliminated by the hollow formation, the casualty rate on the Manchu side was close to 20%.

It cannot be entirely blamed on Duopuluo's poor commanding ability, but because the Manchu Qing Dynasty did not have enough troops in Xiuyan City. Moreover, there is no firearms camp, so there is no way to deal with the flintlock guns used by guerrillas.

Mao Wenlong had been to this wretched place several times, and every time it made Man Qing disgusted.

At the beginning, the Manchu Qing Dynasty allowed Han civilians to exist, and even the defenders in the city were Han soldiers and generals. Precisely because Mao Wenlong instigated an uprising against the Han people, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had no way to deal with Mao Wenlong, so it retaliated against the Han people in Xiuyan City and surrounding areas. All Han people were used as slaves, all livestock and food were robbed, and the garrison was replaced by Eight Banners soldiers.

They were also afraid that too many Han serfs would cause riots here, so they took away half of the population.

Otherwise, with the farming conditions here, it would be no problem to support 1,500 Eight Banners soldiers.

The surrounding barriers of Xiuyan City include military strongholds such as Qianying, Qianbao, Houying, and Houbao. The village that Yang Zhenqing first robbed was the front camp of the Ming Dynasty. As the population dropped sharply, it became a small village, and the complete defense system was destroyed by the Manchus.

These factors all provided Yang Zhenqing with opportunities.

"Bang bang bang!"

More than 300 bullets were fired again, this time hitting two unlucky guys who were running slowly.

The more urgent the gunshots became, the more panicked the Qing army became.

The Eight Banners Soldiers could still remain calm for a little while, but the larger number of Banner Soldiers were already on the verge of collapse, and all they could think about was returning to the city as soon as possible.

Finally, the bannermen began to flee!

"Boom!"

The artillery on the city suddenly fired, trying to cover the retreat of friendly forces.

Yang Zhenqing could only stop the pursuit and rescue his teammates who were shot and fell to the ground. The bodies of the sacrificed soldiers were also recovered. Immediately, he went a few miles southeast of the city to retrieve his war horses carrying grain.

Leading the horses, carrying their wounded and wounded comrades on their backs, they left in a swaggering manner. They wanted to return to the stronghold in the mountains to resupply ammunition.

A few days later, Duopolo received an order from Dorgon: Strictly guard Xiuyan City and not attack at will.

Dorgon was deceived by the wrong information and really thought that the Datong Army sent thousands of troops. Thousands of troops have been fighting in the mountains for several months. How much food will be consumed? As long as Xiuyan City is defended, the Manchu Qing will make a profit.

Dorgon didn't know that there were only a few hundred people in the Datong Army.

Of course, supplies were also shipped, including some bows, arrows and horses, and 50 Manchu and Qing cavalry. As for the remaining vacancies, let Dopoluo recruit local bannermen to supplement them.

Dorgon didn't know it yet, but Duopuluo had suffered another defeat, otherwise he would be so angry that he would be dismissed and replaced with generals.

The Manchu cavalry in Xiuyan City once again reached 180, half of whom were inferior horses and could only be regarded as mounted infantry.

As for the real Manchu cavalry, they were plundering the west side of Gaizhou.

Tens of thousands of cavalry were dispatched at one time, and there were also many dragoons trained by the Manchus. If they wanted to plunder, they had to cross the river. There was Gaizhou City to the east and a bastion to the west. They could only cross the river quickly in the middle. After two or three days, they had to run away quickly for fear of being held back by the Datong cavalry.

Every village and town on the west side of Gaizhou was lit with smoke and they were hiding in earthen forts for defense.

Some Han and Korean people failed to escape in time, and more than 800 people were kidnapped by Qing soldiers. In addition, houses in more than ten villages, as well as property that the villagers did not take away, were burned to the ground by the Manchu cavalry.

The Datong cavalry failed, and immediately launched a retaliatory action. They took a boat to the direction of Ningjin, rescued Han slaves, killed flag men, and burned down houses.

Anyway, in the past two years, there has been no major war, and they have all been consuming each other.

In addition, as early as half a year ago, the Datong Army in Baozhou, North Korea, received an order from the Ministry of War. Let them cross the Yalu River, build Dandong City near the mouth of the sea, and immigrate 10,000 Korean people from Baozhou to cultivate in Dandong.

At the end of Wanli's reign, Hou Jin built a wicker border and prohibited farming, animal husbandry, fishing, hunting, and logging outside the border wall. The Ming army fortresses in the Dandong area were destroyed, the Han people were taken away, and the Jurchens were forced to relocate. The Dandong area has become a desolate land.

Zhao Han was unable to immigrate to Dandong on a large scale for the time being, so he could only move Korean people there to cultivate the land and build an earthen city as a bridgehead for the attack on Fenghuang City (Fengcheng City).

At the same time, more than 200 teachers, with their wives and children, were sent to Baozhou and Dandong to build schools and educate the Korean people.

The salaries of these teachers have generally been raised by one level. Their children, after graduating from middle school, can directly enter universities in various provinces, and the travel expenses and tuition fees will be reimbursed by the Ministry of Rites.

…

Winter has finally arrived, with light snow falling in the sky, and Dopolo breathed a sigh of relief.

Most of Xiuyan City has been destroyed. The most fertile farmland, all the serfs were taken away by Yang Zhenqing, and all the houses were burned down. The bannermen who lost their serfs and their houses were so desperate that they had no choice but to live in the city for the time being.

"Capital, those Nanbarbarians are here again!"

Duopuluo was startled at first, then smiled and said: "Let them come, there is nothing to grab in the south. If the southern barbarians dare to go around to the north, I will let them go and never come back!"

"They're just to the north!"

"What? Why haven't we found any traces of the enemy?"

"They came over the ridge (near Menlougou) from the ravine!"

Dopolo was stunned for a while after hearing this, and then he shouted anxiously: "Hurry up, raise your troops, we must keep them!"

The villages in the south have been burned down and looted. If things continue like this in the north, Xiuyan City will really be ruined. By then, there will be only one city left, and everything outside the city will be evacuated.

Yang Zhenqing is really a lunatic who braved the light snow to cross the mountains.

It was so cold that they could only carry a few days' worth of food, and their retreat might be blocked at any time, and they would either starve to death or freeze to death.

"kill!"

The independent battalion was replenished with 500 men. Stepping on the thin snow, a team of 100 men attacked in all directions.

Among the Manchus here, plus the old, weak, women and children, there could be dozens of people in a village, and the rest were all Bao Yi and Han serfs.

Fighting behind enemy lines, there is no logistics, and they may be surrounded at any time. The military order issued by Yang Zhenqing is very cruel: as long as they are Manchus, regardless of gender, they will be killed. Capturing them alive and letting Bao Yi and serfs kill them was considered as their surrender.

In just two or three days, nearly 2,000 prisoners and serfs were liberated, a large amount of grain was seized, and more than 200 livestock were seized.

The food was open to eat, and more than a dozen livestock were slaughtered to allow the sallow and skinny Han people to replenish their strength. All the clothes and equipment they looted were also given to the Han people.

Then, move away immediately.

Instead of climbing back over the mountains to the south, they followed the ravine to the west. They had to walk two hundred miles in the mountains in the snow. During this period, we have to climb some mountains and go straight to Gaizhou City by the sea! If the news was leaked midway, the Eight Banners soldiers from Yaozhou would definitely be dispatched to block them at the mountain pass.

Even if the enemies of Yaozhou do not come, they still have to pass through the large Lingguan and Shimenguan passes. Each of the two passes is garrisoned by 100 Eight Banners soldiers.

No matter how you look at it, you are seeking death!

Dopoluo detached 50 horses to go south, bypassing the ravine where Yang Zhenqing came from, and blocking Yang Zhenqing's route back over the mountain. Only 100 people were left to guard the city, and he led the rest of the Qing army to the north.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, covering up the traces of Yang Zhenqing's withdrawal.

Duopuluo thought that Yang Zhen was returning to Qingyuan Road, and planned to attack from both sides of the mountain range. I got into the ravine and chased for a while, but there was not even a hair on my head. It seemed that the Datong soldiers and serfs had all flown away.

"Du Tong, did Nanmanzi go to the big block to be imprisoned?" said a personal guard.

Dopolo shook his head: "This Southern Barbarian enemy general is very resourceful. How can he break through the pass and die? There are 100 Eight Banners soldiers there guarding the dangerous point. It takes thousands of people to attack with artillery to conquer the pass."

So everyone was dumbfounded. Could it be that Nanmanzi could really fly?

Duopuluo guessed again: "The Southern Barbarians will not be stupid enough to attack a large ridge pass, but they may go there to hide. When we withdraw, they will come back and go back over the mountains from here. Let's chase that way, don't Underestimating the enemy's advance. We have many soldiers. When we fight head-on, they will definitely use their same tactics and abandon their baggage and retreat into the mountains. At that time, we will not fight them in the mountains, but only rob them of their food. Those in the cold winter months will starve to death in the mountains. them!"

All the generals agreed with this plan and slowly advanced towards the large ridge pass.

Snowy day, evening.

The snow in the wild is already knee-deep.

The Eight Banners troops in large ridges and passes all huddled in their houses to avoid the wind and snow.

No one stood guard, because to the west was the Manchu and Qing Shimen Pass and to the east was the Manchu and Qing Xiuyan City. The three places were connected by ravines, and the rest were all steep mountains. Coupled with the heavy snow, how could the Datong Army appear?

Yang Zhenqing was wrapped in a cotton-padded jacket, and his boots were filled with cotton and hay.

Five hundred independent battalion soldiers came carrying several long ladders. It is a very simple wooden ladder. The wood is freshly cut and tied up with ropes.

Only one person can climb up at a time. If there are too many people, they may be crushed and fall apart.

By the time they lifted the ladder to the bottom of the barrier, it was already dark, and there wasn't even a shadow of a ghost on the wall.

Five hundred soldiers climbed up one by one.

A ladder was also crushed on the way, but it didn't matter, there was snow to cushion the fall.

After all the soldiers climbed up the wall, Yang Zhenqing divided his troops into dozens of groups and ran from house to house knocking on the door.

Yang Zhenqing personally knocked on the door of the tower, where the Eight Banners Army was warming up around the fire.

There was a knock on the door, and someone came to open the door cursing.

The wind and snow poured in, and swords and guns came out, leaving several corpses in the house.

Guancheng is very small, and is full of family members of the defenders, as well as some Han craftsmen who have defected to the Manchus.

Those who are blind and blind can't control so much. They don't care about the Manchus and Han people. They kill all the living people they encounter.

The door was slowly opened, and the Han people who had stayed in the ravine to the east came over carrying grain with their livestock. They quickly burned the snow and boiled hot water to soak their feet. Many people's feet were frozen, and dozens or hundreds of people were feared to be at risk of toe necrosis.

Overnight, Yang Zhenqing occupied a large area of ​​​​Lingguan.

No one can escape, even if there are still people who have not been killed, they are blocked in the city and cannot get out.